Cool sites for teenage boy clothing?

November 19, 2008 2:04 PM

Where are the cool kids buying their winter jackets these days? Parka type garment needed for a 17 year old boy.

My son needs a new winter coat and his birthday is coming up in a couple weeks, so I'd like to order something he'd really like. Last year he got a parka from CCS (now outgrown, of course) but he's not crazy about this year's picks. He also likes the Dr. Jays site, although none of their coats, but it will give you an idea of his style. He's about 6'2" and skinny with longish blondish hair. I'm hoping that this jacket will last more than one winter - I think he might be done growing - so I'm willing to invest some money into it, by which I mean, like $100 - $150. He would rather eat broken glass than actually go to the mall, so this jacket must be available online.

posted by mygothlaundry to clothing, beauty, & fashion (18 comments total)

When i was 17 i would much rather have had the money to pick my own, i know its not the same as having a present but he'll be guaranteed to get something he wants. You never know a wad of cash might just encourage him to brave the mall
posted by chelegonian at 2:26 PM on November 19, 2008

You should get him a wool bridge officers coat. It's like a longer version of a pea coat.
posted by parmanparman at 2:27 PM on November 19, 2008

Most of the jackets at Urban Outfitters fit into your price range. The cool kids these days certainly appear to shop there, but what do I know from the cool kids? Note that some find Urban Outfitters' politics distasteful, but they're a corporation-- what do you expect?
posted by dersins at 2:30 PM on November 19, 2008

He's 17, perfectly capable of picking out his own. Why not just give him a budget and let him go wild? God knows the idea of my own parents actually picking out my clothing at that age was downright terrifying.
posted by Tomorrowful at 2:47 PM on November 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

Abercrombie is what you are looking for. There's a lot of hate for this brand by the PC-crowd, but it is very well made and it lasts for years- saving you money in the long run.
posted by Zambrano at 2:47 PM on November 19, 2008

All the cool kids wear The North Face around here. I'm from South Carolina and the winters are pretty mild so jackets in the $100-150 range work perfect.
posted by bobber at 3:12 PM on November 19, 2008

My son received a burton snowboarding jacket for his 17th last year. Easily gotten from a number of sites though as I recall I bought it from REI outlet. Keep in mind snowboarders generally do not wear ski jackets and vice versa if that applies.
posted by Breav at 3:22 PM on November 19, 2008

Jackets are a totally subjective garment that gets worn as the outermost layer. There's no way you can get this right. Pick out some jackets on web pages, send him the links and ask him to pick which one he likes best out of the 7 or 8. If he really cares about style, he'll use your links as a jumping off point and tell you which jacket he he really wants.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:35 PM on November 19, 2008 [2 favorites]

Karmaloop has lots of options along the lines of Dr. Jays.
posted by dontoine at 3:43 PM on November 19, 2008

When I was shopping for coats for my boyfriend, I thought Buckle had some cool coats. No idea if that site/store would be considered "cool" by 17-year-old boy, though, but it doe seem to have a lot of young/urban/hip styles, and it's in your price range.

(Buckle, though, does seem to have real-world stores in malls, so I don't know if that disqualifies it or not. Me, I hate going into malls but I'll happily shop at mall stores online if I can.)

Karmaloop is a little pricier overall, but seems to have some things in your price range.
posted by darksong at 3:43 PM on November 19, 2008

M-65.
posted by box at 3:47 PM on November 19, 2008

North Face if you're trying to brag that you have money or that you are a Sporty person.

L.L. Bean if you're just trying to stay warm in the least-stupid-looking way possible, (for about the same amount of money).
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:11 PM on November 19, 2008

As a 16-year-old guy myself, I can whole-heartedly recommend Chuck Anderson's Burton Light Camo Jacket. Admittedly, not exactly for everybody, but it's right in your price range, and on the cutting edge of cool. It is the kind of thing that you should let him see first, though, because... Well, teenage boys and rainbows do not always go so great together.
posted by Gotham at 4:24 PM on November 19, 2008

iamkimiam has it... this is a totally subjective question. There is such a massive range of potential -- sporty/non-sporty? Wool? Artificial fabrics? Short/Long? Colour? Buttons/zip? Utility pockets/fashionably sleek?

To avoid disappointment (speaking as a son whose mother loved him very much but who was eager to shop for himself as soon as he could), either tell him your budget and let him go wild on the net, or at least send him a few examples from any of the links that people have given you here, just to get an idea of the kind of thing he wants. Presumably he's going to have be doing all his clothes shopping for himself in a couple of years anyway; this seems like a good time to ease him into it if it's not something he's chomping at the bit to do.
posted by modernnomad at 5:28 PM on November 19, 2008

The North Face jackets are always on point. I'm in DC. Don't seem to be going out of style any time soon.
posted by citron at 11:31 PM on November 19, 2008

Ditto the North Face for my area and I would think the Denali or such would be plenty warm. From the looks of things it may be a little too on the side of what my kids call "prep" for your son.

They are really great though.
posted by domino at 6:40 AM on November 20, 2008

Thanks, y'all. To clarify I should have said that I was really just looking for links to share with my son - I wouldn't dream of trying to buy him a jacket he hadn't seen. Bad phrasing on my part.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:22 AM on November 20, 2008

Depending on how stylish he is, he may like a pea coat. It is also #111 of Stuff White People Like.
posted by plexi at 8:39 AM on November 20, 2008